The Patron Saint of Broken Girls
by Getitgirl
Summary: She silently cursed a million things. The truck for breaking down, Haymitch for keeping her late, herself for not taking better care of everything, and finally her mother for dying and leaving them like this. It only took a minute to finish the litany, but it was enough to let a dull ache settle into her chest... Modern day AU.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fic in a long long time, but I thought I would try to get back into it. R&R, love me please.**

* * *

"No. No. No. Not now!" She slammed her hand down on the dashboard of the dilapidated pick up truck with each word. Each smack hit the dent already worn into the sun-baked interior. She didn't actually believe the truck was giving up on her, even when the smoke started wafting from the hood and the gas pedal stopped responding to her urgent pressing. The sickening cough the engine made when it cut out was what finally made her admit there might be a problem.

She used the last of the truck's momentum to pull to the shoulder. Folding her arms over the large steering wheel and leaning her head down to meet them, she let herself wallow in anger for a moment. She silently cursed a million things. The truck for breaking down, Haymitch for keeping her late, herself for not taking better care of everything, and finally her mother for dying and leaving them like this. It only took a minute to finish the litany, but it was enough to let a dull ache settle into her chest. She tried to shake it off. Prim needed to be picked up and she needed to stop sitting in a broken down truck.

Katniss opened the door and slid down to the ground on light feet. She looked almost comically small next to the massive brown Chevy, though no one would say that to her face. Her characteristic scowl let up for a moment to allow for a hiss of pain as the over heated hood burned her fingers. She quickly pushed it up and brought her fingers to her mouth to soothe the pain. She looked down on the traitorous engine block with angry gray eyes squinting against the smoke. A cursory glance and a few pokes around later, told her it wasn't anything she could fix now. She would have to walk ahead to the closest gas station or payphone and hope that Gail was off work. She pulled down the hood and started to gather her things for the walk.

"Hey Catnip. Taking a break or is there something sinister going on here?" Gale leaned out of the window of his own, significantly newer truck looking concerned. The years since high school looked like they had only improved Gale. Little laugh lines settled around his gray eyes. His dark hair was a little too long, but it suited him. His skin was still dark olive, even though spring had just started. She could see from his "Hawthorn Construction" shirt that he had just come from a job.

She couldn't even be pleased at his early arrival. She was still too mad at her truck. Her scowl was thick as she clipped out a reply.

"Sinister. Damned annoying is more like it. Engine is blown or something. I've got to get it home before I can even figure out what's wrong. Prim is still at school. Can you take me to pick her up?" She wasn't really asking. She knew he would. She was already pulling on the passenger side door before she even finished her sentence.

* * *

"I'm sure she is fine. Somebody probably just took her home. She isn't dumb and this isn't the kind of town people get snatched from." Gale's words sounded pleading rather than reassuring as he looked at Katniss anxiously bouncing her leg up and down in the passenger seat. He didn't like when she was rattled. Prim wasn't waiting in her usual spot after she finished her tutoring gig. Katniss checked the room Prim taught in, she checked the field, she checked everywhere, but the whole place was deserted.

"Yeah, I know Gale, but I'm worried she tried to walk home. It's five miles and she isn't good in the woods. What if she got lost?" Katniss looked out into the oncoming gloom with growing anxiety. The quickest way from the school to the Everdeen's cabin was through a long trail in the woods. It wasn't the clearest trail since Katniss stopped walking it six years ago, the second she got her license. It wouldn't take much to get lost if you weren't sure of the way. The long days of summer were still a while off and she could just imagine Prim getting cold and lost in the woods.

"Then we will track her. It isn't like it would be hard. She is as loud as they come in the woods. Besides, I'm sure she is at home. Her teacher wouldn't leave her there." Katniss shifted in her seat, pulling up one of her legs to sit on and leaning back in her chair. She rubbed her forehead to ease the headache Gale was giving her.

"You're right. I know you're right." She said with a sigh, but he could tell she wouldn't be easy again until she had Prim in her arms. After loosing her mom three years ago, Katniss wasn't really herself unless she had Prim in her sight. It was easy to understand, but it didn't make it easy to be around her.

As they turned into the unpaved lane leading up to the Everdeen Cabin, Katniss leaned forward and Gale could feel her surprise. There was a car they didn't recognized pulled in front. Before he had the keys out of the ignition she was out of the car, running up the steps. By the time he made it in, Prim was pulled up in a hug and he could barely see her little body folded up in Katniss.

"Calm down Katniss. I'm fine. Really." He heard Prim's voice muffled through Katniss' shoulder.

"You scared me to death Little Duck! I thought you tried to walk home. I'm so sorry. The truck broke down." She finally pulled back and peered into her sister's eyes, trying to read if she had suffered at all in the last hour.

"It's fine! When you didn't come, Peeta waited with me and then when it started getting late he brought me home. I would have stayed there, but I figured you just got stuck at work."

Katniss finally seemed to be satisfied that her baby sister was still in one piece and could be bothered to notice the other person in the room. Turning from her sister, Katniss walked over to the couch where Peeta sitting with a cup of tea. A small smile had played on his lips while he watched the Everdeen sisters reunite, but once Katniss turned to face him it vanished and he paled a little. Gale couldn't blame him. Katniss was hard to predict in the best of times, but when Prim was involved all bets were off. Would she be happy Prim was safe, angry she was taken, or ashamed that her sister had to take charity? Gale leaned against the open doorway, eager for a show. It was his turn to smile.

Katniss took him in. She had barely seen Peeta since they graduated four years ago. He looked, if possible, bigger than she remembered. He seemed to take up the living room with his broad shoulders and big arms. The t-shirt he was wearing was covered in paint and clearly not meant to be worn in company. It was a little thread bare and a little small for the big man. His faded jeans hung snugly at his hips. His eyes were the same though. Bright blue, still eagerly looking at her, but a little unsure. Seeing him in her living room was surreal. He didn't belong here. He was like a ghost from a life outside this house that she had given up a long time ago.

She wasn't sure how she felt about all this. The relief from seeing Prim safe and sound was still the first thing on her mind. She held out her hand to him. "Thanks." It was the best he was going to get from her and he knew it.

He got up from the couch and took her hand. Breaking into a bright smile filled with relief. "No problem. Your house is on my way." Smiling, he still looked like the little kid Katniss remembered from school. Kind of like a goofy cherub, with pink cheeks and blond curls.

Gale scoffed loudly. The house Mr. Everdeen built thirty years ago wasn't on the way to anything. Certainly not on the way to anything the town baker was going to. The hunting cabin was out in the middle of nowhere. The closest thing to it was Gale's own hunting cabin, and that was still a mile and a half out. Katniss turned to give Gale a look, but Peeta continued and grabbed her attention again. He still held onto her hand.

"I was thinking, maybe I could just take Prim home everyday. I teach art classes after school and we finish up at the same time. It wouldn't be any trouble, really."

Prim jumped in quickly. "Yeah Katniss. He waits with me most of the time anyway, it would probably be easier for him to just take me home." Katniss' misgivings melted quickly when she heard Prim wanted it. It would be easier. Katniss wouldn't have to make her schedule at the shooting range around Prim's and she would know Prim got home safely. It would be best. At least until her truck got fixed.

Katniss deliberated for a second longer, weighing her pride against her sister's wishes. "I mean, if it really wouldn't be a problem. I would appreciate it." She wrung his hand one more time before pulling away from him. Sealing the deal.

"Like I said, it's on my way. It would just make sense." He gave another big smile. It looked like he just won the lottery. "Well, I guess now that you're home I should go." He pulled his messenger bag onto his shoulder and gave a little wave to Prim. "See you tomorrow Prim. I'll meet you by the front."

Prim nodded and shot him a sweet smile "Thanks again Peeta!"

"Yeah, thank you." Katniss echoed quietly, following him to the door.

Gale moved only enough to allow Peeta to get through the door. "Oh hey Gale. Nice to see you again." He gave Gale a short bob of the head before opening the screen door. Gale didn't say anything, but walked into the room and plopped himself on the couch, eying Peeta's back.

"Jesus, I hope he hasn't moved on to the other Everdeen." Prim laughed, but he could feel Katniss' stormy gaze on him before he saw it.

"Oh please Gale, he is just being nice. He has given other people rides when they get stuck." Prim paused for a second and added. "I also don't think I'm his type." Prim quickly bent down to pick up Peeta's tea-cup and start tidying the living room, clearly trying not to make eye contact with her sister.

"Nice is taking you home once. Taking you home every day is wanting something. 'On the way' my ass." Gale grumbled, pushing Buttercup off the couch with more force than he meant to. The cat mewed angrily before following Prim into the kitchen where she was starting dinner.

Katniss had enough. She dropped down on to the thrift store couch, bringing up a small wave of that hand me down smell. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head onto Gale's shoulder. "Well whatever his reason, I'm happy. With my truck broken for the moment it will at least be nice to know I don't have to worry about Prim." She was up again in a second. "Shit, I have to call the tow truck."


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss could feel a new level of migraine picking away at her brow. Gale and the tow-truck driver had finally talked her into the fact that she couldn't fix the truck herself. It would have to go into a mechanic and a mechanic meant a bill. By the time everything had gotten settled it was late and Katniss didn't think she could stand another minute of Gale. She really wanted to hide in her room in the dark and sleep this headache off, but Prim had anticipated her mood. She had set out popcorn and warm blankets on the couch. There was a bright fire crackling in the fireplace and a zombie classic in the DVD player. As much as she wanted to slam her door and be done with this day, she knew she couldn't ignore what Prim had done for her.  
She took longer than necessary in the bathroom in an attempt to rescue her flagging spirit. The weight of the bill she anticipated from the mechanic was heavy on her heart. She had been saving for months to get Prim a prom dress worth wearing, but now that was going to the truck. She knew Prim wouldn't care, but thinking about having her sister go to prom in some hand-me-down Hazelle had fixed up made the corners of her eyes sting. She splashed cold water on her face and scrubbed, trying to wash the whole afternoon off.  
Prim was sitting quietly on the corner of couch waiting for her when she got out of the bathroom. When Katniss sat, Prim pulled her down and laid Katniss' head in her lap. Katniss was almost embarrassed by the protective gesture but that melted away as her sister played with her hair. This was too comfortable to worry about who was the big sister. The movie started up, but Katniss wasn't paying attention. She was just looking up at Prim, studying her. She had her long blonde hair in a side braid like Katniss, but the girls couldn't be more different. Katniss preferred it that way. Her sister was light where Katniss was dark, all big blue eyes and sweet features. There wasn't a trace of the pain or harshness that was evident in Katniss. Katniss knew Prim had felt the death of their parents as hard, if not harder than Katniss herself had, but Prim almost never showed those scars. She was still so open and easy. As much as Katniss tried to protect Prim from everything, she knew that Prim was the strong one. It was easy to see why everyone fell in love with her.  
Katniss finally got up the nerve to ask Prim something she had been thinking about all day. After what Gale said, she couldn't help herself, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. Prim was never very good at hiding her feelings, but since their mother died, Katniss and Prim had become especially in tune with each other. Katniss knew that if she asked, she would know the answer, regardless of what came out of Prim's mouth.

"You and Peeta seem cozy. Do you really talk that often?" She decided to start easy. Girl talk wasn't her strong suit.

"Yeah, he is a really nice guy. I don't understand why you guys weren't friends in high school. He usually stays after tutoring to make sure I get home. We talk while we wait. I mean he has only been home from college for three weeks, but he has waited with me since he started working with Mrs. Murphey." Prim didn't seem bothered by this line of questioning. She just continued watching the movie flicker in front of her on the television. Of course her sister didn't understand why they weren't friends in high school. Prim was the best of both worlds. She knew the Seam, but looked like a merchant. Katniss didn't think her sister had ever really felt the divide in the town between the rich and the poor. There were few divides big enough to stop Prim's smile.  
Katniss remembered someone mentioning that Peeta had come home from college early. She was tempted to ask her why he was back in town at all, but tried to redirect her questioning. "What do you talk about?"  
"This and that. He is really good at giving advice. He said he would help me get a prom date. I try to help him with his girl problems, but I don't think I'm much help. I told him about Rory though." Prim looked like she had just turned into cotton candy. Pink from head to toe.  
Katniss' mind wandered to what 'girl problems' Prim could possibly help with, but she couldn't resist a chance to needle Prim. "Oh you act like you don't know he is going to ask you already. You know he is Prim." Katniss couldn't help but smile at her sister's blush. This was worth all the worrying and working. To see Prim get a childhood was everything Katniss had ever wanted. "Just don't get too attached. You're leaving soon." The thought of this spitting image of their mother making the same mistake as her own mother had made anxiety catch Katniss' throat. Staying in this godforsaken town for a handsome miner. It would kill Katniss. Or Katniss would kill Rory. She hadn't decided.  
"Don't worry, I know. I just want to have a prom date." Prim grinned flush still high on her cheek, but then she started fidgeting with her hands. This was her tell. There was something she wasn't saying. Katniss narrowed her eyes at her little sister, nightmares of her sister telling her she wanted to leave college to stay with Rory climbing around in her imagination. She tried to soften her expression, but couldn't.  
"Out with it little duck."  
"Well what about you? I mean what about when I'm gone at school? I just don't want you to be up here all alone." Prim furrowed her brow. Concern was so thick on her face, but Katniss couldn't help but be relieved.  
"I'll ask Jo to move in. Or Madge. Don't worry. If I end up a hermit, it is because I want to be."  
"Don't say that Katniss. Just tell me you will try to make sure you're not alone."  
Katniss let out a long sigh. She would. She would always do what Prim asked her to.

* * *

It was before dawn when Katniss slipped on her boots. She pressed her toes into the well-worn soles, feeling the relief that came with beginning this small ritual. The steps were always the same, all building towards the hunt. Next came her father's hunting jacket. She pulled it over her shirt, which may have been black long ago, but had since given up trying to be a color. She checked the pockets, making sure her knife was there along with a few other essentials. She knew they would be, but checking made her feel better. Katniss inhaled deeply. There was no way the jacket could still smell like her father after so many years, but when she took a moment to notice it, she thought she could still catch something of the man she missed so much.  
She grabbed her bow and a full quiver of arrows from their usual spot beside the back door. Taking a quick look back into the small, dark living room before plunging into the forest. The crisp morning air stung her lungs and cheeks, but she was grateful. It felt like the first real breath she had taken in days. She drank it in. Each breath was like a satisfying stretch after over sleeping, muscles still taunt with inaction but eager to move. Any tension she had felt over the truck breaking down, or from having to spend the money she had saved for Prim's prom dress on fixing it slowly leaked out of her. It mixed into the air and vanished like the hot steam coming from her mouth.  
She pushed thoughts away, letting them idle in her mind while she focused on stepping slowly and quietly. She peered around each tree, waiting for the forest to reveal itself to her. Shafts of weak morning light started to filter in. She could even feel her heartbeat slow, as if it didn't want to frighten the serenity of this place by beating too loudly. Its reverence was soon rewarded. She spotted a rabbit out of the corner of her eye. It was only a second before she had the arrow pulled back and trained. It flew easily from her fingertips and hit its mark. She closed her eyes for a moment and was thankful that she could still aim so well. Her ears pricked up as she heard quiet steps behind her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she notched an arrow. Thoughts of mountain lions crossed her mind as she spun to face what was following her.  
"Jesus Catnip, they make guns for hunting now, you know, right?" Gale grinned at her with the tip of her arrow inches away from his heart. With his smile Katniss could feel the little peace she had built for herself this morning cracking. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of bitterness seep into her face.  
She put the arrow back into her quiver before answering him solemnly. "If I used a gun you would be dead."  
"If you ever decide to use a gun to hunt, I promise I will stop sneaking up on you." He walked forward and picked up the dead rabbit by the scruff of its neck, pulling out the arrow on the way. "But with a gun you would have to stop hunting these small things. They would be blown to bits."  
They turned to start walking back to the Everdeen house. "This is more fun." She said simply, trying in vain to return to her peaceful state. She tried to will Gale away.  
"Heaven forbid anything be easy for Katniss Everdeen." Gale chuckled. They walked along in companionable silence for a while. "So what are you going to do once Prim leaves for school in a few months?" Gale's voice sounded tight. Like it took a lot of effort to ask this question.  
"I'll miss her, but it isn't like it changes much." Katniss could feel the mountain of worry she was avoiding fall back into her. She was becoming more and more frustrated with Gale's presence.  
"Without Prim to take care of, what are you going to do with yourself? You won't have to be a mom anymore. You can move if you want to. Go to college yourself. Date. Do anything."  
She stopped to appraise him, but he kept walking, with his gaze steadfastly on the cabin. "I hadn't thought about it like that. I guess just stay here. I mean this house is all I have and I like working for Haymitch. Why? Are you trying to get rid of me Gale Hawthorne?"  
"Just checking if I should start looking for a replacement yet." He grinned again, this time Katniss felt like she could join him.  
It was true, with Prim safely away at school and well taken care of between loans and scholarships, she could relax a little. Thinking about the sense of peace she had this morning she said, "I think you're safe for a while. I can't imagine leaving this place."  
"Good because I would chase you." He looked at her through the corner of his eye only to see her jet off toward the house. Gale laughed and ran after her.

* * *

With a quick "Thanks" to Gale, Katniss jumped out of his shiny red F-150. She was a little late for work, not that it mattered. It was 8:15 am and Haymitch was most certainly not at the store yet. Judging by his track record lately, she could expect him to wake up and make an appearance around closing time on his way to the bar for round 2. She opened the door and heard the little bell above ring. Johanna was standing a few feet from the door, body sideways, feet wide, in a fencing stance. Katniss couldn't see what she had in her hand, but she knew Johanna was throwing knives again. Johanna didn't acknowledge that someone had come in, she just squinted toward the dartboard at the end of the narrow room. Her tongue caught between her teeth in concentration. Katniss waited patiently in the doorway for Jo to release the knife, trying not to ruin her shot. Once it found its way to the center of the bulls-eye, Katniss threw her leather bag over the long glass case that ran across the right side of the room and hopped cleanly over it.  
"Someday you're going to miss and break that case and I will die laughing." Jo said while lining up again to throw another knife. "Then I will come back to life just to laugh some more." Katniss couldn't help but give a soft barking laugh, more at how Jo looked than at her comment. The way she was standing made her look like Peter Pan, dagger in hand. Her ruffled short brown hair stood out on end like she had just rolled out of bed. Her green Abernathy Gun and Ammo shirt tight across her boyish chest and her slight build made her look even more like the preteen hero. Her tight jeans were about the only thing that betrayed Jo's gender.  
"Yeah, but you'll get over it once you realize you have to help pick glass out of my ass."  
"Mmm, not the situation I had hoped to see your ass in but I'll take it." She winked before throwing another little knife right at the bulls-eye. Katniss rolled her eyes and shrugged on an over-sized sweatshirt. "Don't get too comfortable Kat, you have a private class at ten. Some little princess needs help learning how to shoot a handgun daddy bought her. Bitch is named Glimmer. Can you believe that?"  
"Ugh, I can. She was in my graduating class. Can't you take it?"  
"Nope, she asked for you. Maybe it's your charming personality." Katniss grabbed a couple more throwing knives from the gun case before hopping back over to join Johanna. She pushed up her sleeves and got into her own throwing stance. They had put the bell on the door themselves to allow for this target practice. The room was a long narrow thing with just enough room for the gun case and not much else. The shooting range was on the other side of the wall and that was the real attraction. After four years of full-time work, Katniss and Jo were getting pretty good at throwing knives, shooting guns, and taking out their frustrations on targets.  
"God, a tiny lesbian and some hillbilly forest girl throwing knives for fun. Katniss Everdeen, we are unloveable." Jo didn't really believe that for a second, but she said it almost every time they started this game. This time Katniss didn't laugh.  
"You are the second one to say that to me in twenty-four hours. Prim told me she is scared I am going to wind up some shut in after she goes to school." Thwack, a knife hit the dead center, cutting through the target and into the wall. She didn't flinch. The walls were thick redwood and filled with little scratches and cuts from their less successful attempts at learning to throw knives. Jo had buried a hatchet so deep into the wall next to the target that Haymitch just let them leave it there. He hung a sign that said 'Stealing is not advised' next to it.  
"Well aren't you?" Jo asked easily, walking up to pull the knives out of the dart board. She pulled hard on the one stuck in the middle and had to wiggle it to coax it out of the wall. "Jesus Katniss, getting a little dramatic, are we?"  
"I am not a shut in. I have Gale don't I? And you? And Madge and Finnick? Don't they count?"  
"I don't think friends are what Prim was talking about. I think Prim is just worried her sister is actually the frigid bitch she pretends to be. Nuns get more action than you do." Jo handed all the knives to Katniss and leaned against the case. Clearly Katniss had some shit to work through.  
"Sorry for being a responsible guardian." She missed the target by a mile this time, her cheeks getting pink with anger.  
"You don't have to tell me. I know, but now that Prim is almost gone you can start sleeping around like the little slut I know you are."  
"Not what I was planning on." Katniss took a deep breath before launching the next knife, trying to focus.  
"Yeah, whatever, I'm not judging. Why don't you just sleep with Gale and get it over with?" A knife hit flat against the wall and fell down with a clatter onto the hardwood floor. "Oh don't look at me like that. You know he wants a little of that fucked up girl flavor, and Gale has already dealt with your bullshit and knows you're really just a marshmallow under that hard candy shell." Katniss didn't know what her face looked like, but she knew it couldn't possibly be conveying enough of the disgust she felt for this idea. "You can't tell me you haven't thought about running to his cabin and asking him to keep you warm on one of those cold winter nights. Hell, I've thought about it and I don't even play for his team."  
If Katniss was being honest, she had thought about it. The fact that he was handsome was undeniable, but more importantly, he was her best friend. He was loyal. He understood her temper. He didn't question her devotion to Prim. But for everything she didn't know about having a boyfriend, she did know there was supposed to be more than what they had.  
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."  
"You just need to fuck him, you don't need to marry him. Blah blah blah, ruining your relationship, whatever. You get some friends with benefits action, if it works out, great, if it doesn't, he finds someone else and so do you."  
Katniss didn't reply. She just continued throwing knives, intensely focused on the target. Johanna almost felt sorry for the wood beneath.  
"Whatever, forget I said anything. Let's lock up for a minute and go get some coffee and bagels across the street."  
That was about the only thing Jo could have said to get Katniss out of her fixation on the cork board. She opened her mouth, but realized she didn't know what to tell Jo. Katniss shifted uneasily. She was more worried about seeing Peeta at the bakery than leaving the shop unattended. She still hadn't figured out how she felt about his volunteering to pick up Prim. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" She finally got out.  
"No one is coming in this early and what is Haymitch gonna do? Fire me and send me back to momsie and popsicle?" That was the only way Johanna ever referred to her parents. She pretended like she didn't care that they had kicked her out after catching her in bed with the preacher's daughter her senior year of high school. Katniss knew better. She had met Johanna the day she found her way to her Uncle Haymitch's store, looking for a place to stay. "Haymitch, the patron saint of broken girls, would not begrudge us some breakfast. Come on, I'm buying."


End file.
